Patissez, a small bakery in Canberra, has created a monster. They’ve created and sell “Freakshows,” gigantic milkshakes topped with baked goods and spilling over with decadent ingredients like salted caramel, fudge, vanilla cream, and Nutella. The pictures have been everywhere the last few days, and when I first saw them, I stopped dead in my tracks. The milkshake was so ridiculous and messy and amazing and I had to have it. Unfortunately, plane tickets to Canberra are a bit out of my price range for a milkshake. So what’s a girl to do? MAKE HER OWN.
Three of their milkshakes incorporate baked goods made in house, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to compete with that. But one of them, the Nutella and Salted Pretzel shake, uses ingredients any of us can find at our local grocery store. Plus, who wouldn’t be up to the challenge of using half of a container of Nutella for one milkshake?
The tricks to this shake is to go big, get messy, and make as much as you can from scratch. Making homemade vanilla whipped cream gave it a nicer color, flavor, and texture than using the pre-made bright white stuff from a can. When it all came together, I stood back in awe. I felt a bit like Dr. Frankenstein: giddy at my monstrous creation, and thrilled that I had done it. But after consuming just a fifth of it? I had wondered what I had brought into the world. This shake is rich, huge, disgustingly delicious, and it should not be for one mere mortal. Please, drink responsibly and share this with your entire family.
Ok, enough disclaimers. Let’s get to the recipe.
Nutella and Salted Pretzel Freakshow Shake
Ingredients:
- 3 cups ice cream
- Nutella. Just bring the whole container to this party. You’ll use a little under half of it.
- 2/3 cup milk
- mini pretzels
- vanilla whipped cream (see recipe below)
Directions:
- Place the ice cream, 1/3 cup Nutella, 2/3 cup milk, and 6 mini pretzels in the blender. Blend until smooth.
- Take a mason jar and make a stripe around the inside of the jar with the Nutella.
- Cover the outside rim of the jar with Nutella–enough where pretzels can be pushed into it and stick.
- Place mini pretzels on the Nutella-covered rim of the jar in a decorative fashion.
- Pour the milkshake into the mason jar. Leave some room at the top for a cleaner experience, fill it to the brim if you want “milkshake waterfalls” to pour out everywhere.
- Place the vanilla whipped cream in a ziplock bag and cut off one of the corners, making a makeshift piping bag. Pipe the whipped cream on top of the milkshake. Don’t be afraid to go above the jar and over the sides a bit!
- Using a spoon, plop small amounts of Nutella onto the top of the whipped cream. Stick mini pretzels into the little Nutella pockets you’ve made.
- Crush 2-3 pretzels into dust and sprinkle it on top of the milkshake.
- Add some fun straws for flair, and enjoy!
Vanilla Whipped Cream
Ingredients:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
Directions:
- Begin whisking the cream in a cold bowl. (If using a mixer, work up to using one of the faster settings)
- Slowly add the vanilla and powdered sugar while continuing to mix the cream.
- Mix until stiff peaks form.
The beauty of a milkshake is that it’s easy to experiment and fix your mistakes. Want it thicker? Add more ice cream? Want it thinner? Add more milk. Need more Nutella? Add more Nutella. (Or just lick the edge of the jar, for goodness sake. There’s SO MUCH Nutella everywhere.) I made all of the shake’s ingredients in denominations of 3s so you can easily increase or decrease the size.
If you could make your own flavor of freakshow shake, what would you include? I think mine would be a banana cookies and cream shake with chocolate whipped cream, multiple oreos, and an entire banana. Cause why not?
Um, yum!! :O